Faced with an increasingly harsh economic environment, the consumer is surveying all expenses searching for ways to stretch income further. One undesirable expense is caused by the presence of holes and leaks in home and garden articles. Holes and leaks often mean that the item must be replaced, creating substantial increases in expenditure without any noticeable increase in standard of living.
Holes and leak arise from a variety of causes including anticipated, repeated use for which the article is designed, as well as exposure of the articles to the natural environment. Articles maintained in an outdoor environment all year are particularly prone to developing leaks and holes because they are exposed to the elements of all four seasons—winter, spring, summer and fall. The consecutive and cumulative exposure of the articles to sunlight, wind, rain and freezing conditions combines to create leaks and holes in even the sturdiest materials.
Options for repairing leaks are known in the art. For example, for flexible materials such as tarpaulins, patches may be applied using adhesives. Similarly, applying compositions containing polymers, copolymers, resins, and the like with and without curing agents is known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,614. Heavy-duty rubber aerosols are also known for temporary coatings. U.S. Pat. No. 7,520,553. Challenges remain however, in providing longer-lasting repairs without compromising the function of the original article.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for cost-effective methods of repairing leaks and holes in articles while retaining their sought-after properties.